Tiran Smallboy-Zorthian: OSKIMAHKAHN and the Push for Indigenous-Led Clean Energy Sovereignty

By Chevi Rabbit, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

(ANNews) – “I am a 25-year-old Indigenous entrepreneur, young father, and partner in a supportive relationship where family and responsibility are central to everything I do,” says Tiran Smallboy-Zorthian.

For Tiran, identity, responsibility, and work are deeply connected. A Cree and Armenian entrepreneur, he is the founder and director of OSKIMAHKAHN, a clean energy consulting initiative focused on supporting Indigenous and rural communities in building accessible, community-driven energy systems.

“My work sits at the intersection of environmental innovation and practical energy transition strategies, with a strong focus on making clean energy more accessible and actionable.”

His foundation comes from lived experience on the land. “I grew up off the land,” he says, “chopping wood, hauling water, really utilizing every resource at my disposal as a kid.”

Raised in Mountain Cree Camp, formally Smallboy’s Camp, located on Crown land, that separated from the Maskwacis First Nations in the late 1960s, Smallboy-Zorthian describes a life shaped by both cultural teachings and practical survival. His early education combined Cree culture, language, Western schooling, and ceremony.

“I grew up in our own school there. It’s a mix of three hours Cree and then the three hours of Western education.”

“Ceremony and community are very key aspects within the school and the community.”

That foundation continues to guide his approach to clean energy development and community work.

Even in his youth, he was already thinking about energy solutions in practical terms.

“I tried to, in high school, [figure out] what kind of solutions could I bring? Like, there’s solar panels. My grandpa has solar panels and batteries on his place. How could we incorporate that with the school?”

Today, those early questions have evolved into OSKIMAHKAHN.

He describes the business as a sole proprietorship focused on clean energy consulting, clean energy systems, community energy planning, community engagement, partnership development, and grant writing support.

It also includes direct assistance in supporting communities to move energy projects forward. “Assistance with getting your clean energy project off the ground. Be it solar panels, be it housing retrofits, be it assistance with developing your own clean energy department within your nation, resource development.”

Smallboy-Zorthian emphasizes that energy challenges in remote communities remain central to his work. “We’re paying so much money into fuel costs, propane generators, and having to pay for double loads sometimes with road weight limits.”

His formal clean energy training began through Indigenous Clean Energy Social Enterprise (ICESE), including participation in the 2020 Catalyst Program where he received an Indigenous Clean Energy Leadership certificate.

The program focused on “providing clean energy training, project management, and community aspects of working within the clean energy sector.”

A key lesson, he says, was energy sovereignty. “Especially understanding energy sovereignty and really helping your community in the best way you can.”

That understanding was tested during his involvement in a community energy initiative where he raised concerns about governance structures and agreements. “The only kind of agreement you have is a letter of support… no MOUs, no partnership agreements, no clarity on funding or land.”

From his perspective, the structure risked removing long-term benefits from the community. “If I were to continue working on this project, the nation would need land… and then that project and power and clean energy credits… would not go to my community.”

He describes advocating for accountability as a turning point. “I really had to advocate for my own community’s sovereignty.”

He was later terminated from the role, which he frames as a defining shift in direction. “I got terminated… and it’s just business… but I was advocating for my community.”

Following that period, he entered mentorship programming through ICESE, which supported the formal development of OSKIMAHKAHN.

“She mentored me on how to write a grant, how to approach partnerships, how to do primary market research, secondary market research… and how to devise partnerships that survive the change of leaderships.”

Through that process, OSKIMAHKAHN was officially established “and on June 11th, 2025, OSKIMAHKAHN was born.”

He explains the meaning of the name as rooted in Cree language and renewal. “Oski is the word being new… it’s about renewal, happening again and again.”

Today, his work continues through clean energy consulting, partnerships, and industry engagement, including collaboration with Greenplanet Energy Analytics (GEA), where he is currently gaining applied experience in energy systems and project development.

He is also expanding his professional presence through public speaking and youth leadership.

Smallboy-Zorthian has appeared as a youth panelist with the Indigenous Trailblazers Summit, where he speaks about his experience in clean energy development and his partnership work with Greenplanet Energy Analytics (GEA), helping bring visibility to collaborative Indigenous-led energy initiatives.

Alongside entrepreneurship, he also identifies strongly as a youth advocate. “I really see the best in our youth. I really want them to see the best within themselves.”

“My message for them is to find something that they can bring back to their community, even though they feel like their community let them down.”

“They don’t have to repeat what’s been done to them. They can take the high road and say, you know what, I’ll be that guy. I’ll be the one to help.”

He also emphasizes cultural grounding.

“I advocate for kids to get to ceremonies as much as they can, get out there to the powwows.”

Outside of his consulting work, he is also a musician releasing work under his name, Tiran Zorthian. “I’m also putting out my own songs on Spotify with my uncle.”

For Smallboy-Zorthian, all aspects of his life are connected through responsibility, community, and future-building. “I’m very proud of where I come from,” he says.

As OSKIMAHKAHN continues to grow, his focus remains on supporting Indigenous communities in developing clean energy systems that they not only adopt – but own, govern, and sustain.